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Homeowner’s Association Sues Returning Army Vet Over Backyard Swing Set

MINEOLA, Texas (CBS Houston) — A homeowner’s association is suing a returning Army veteran for having a swing set for his kids in his backyard.

The Spring Lake Homeowner’s Association has filed a lawsuit against Bill Fry, an Army National Guard captain who just recently returned from Afghanistan after serving overseas for a year, and his wife, Candi Fry, for not getting approval to put up the swing set.

“The way the homeowner’s association has treated us and portrayed us to our neighbors, it has caused a fairly sizable rift,” Capt. Fry told WFAA-TV.

Candi Fry says they got permission to build the $1,200 swing set for their children in their backyard last year, but the homeowner’s association claims that is not true.

“They’re in the wrong only because they declined to make the proper application and submit the drawings,” homeowner’s association chairman Harold Lemmon told KLTV.

The lawsuit states that the swing set is “not in harmony with the design and location in relation to surrounding structures and topography,” according to The Mineola Monitor.

“Not once before or even during construction was anything mentioned that we need to submit documents for this,” Capt. Fry told the Monitor.

Lemmon says the homeowner’s association has received several complaints from neighbors over the swing set.

“We are sorry for the children, what has taken place in our community, but there is nothing we can do about it,” Lemmon told WFAA.